Founder of 'Dimyonovea' Method: "All Answers to Our Challenges Lie Within Us"

From childhood, and even in our mother’s womb, we begin to be social creatures and receive unconscious messages — initially from our closest social agents, our parents, and later from society as a whole.<\/p>

At every stage of our lives, we pause to replenish, but the problem is that as we live and experience more, our reservoir begins to fill with somewhat less positive and good images of the reality around us, "and this is where the problem actually begins," explains Rabbi Amit Kedem — founder of the 'Dimyonovea' method, an educator, lecturer, and workshop facilitator in the method he founded.<\/p>

Why is this a problem? "Because that world of images and interpretations also serves us in building our self-image, and if it's filled with more negative images than positive ones, a person will struggle with true self-acceptance and acceptance of those around him."<\/p>

The first step to take in the journey towards the desired change is what is called in the Hasidic world 'clarifying the imaginative power'. In such clarification, we essentially penetrate the childish imagery layer and enter a world of deep and internal intellect. "In this world, the childish perceptions we've acquired throughout life do not exist, which stem from the external intellect. This clarification is essentially an entrance to deeper layers of the soul, layers not revealed to us in the busy everyday life, and within these layers, the work takes place."<\/p>

How is the work done in practice?<\/p>

"First, we learn to identify the incorrect and childish images that lie on the outer layer, preventing us from being who we can be. After that, we learn to release them, while simultaneously, the inner layer is revealed to us — with new and positive images of who we are, the circumstances that led us to become who we are today, and those around us."<\/p>

"The search should stem from the recollection of something I once knew"<\/strong><\/p>

During this clarification process, painful and complex places may surface, "but they are not the goal," Kedem emphasizes. "Beyond those difficult regions, we have within us the intellect that comes from the soul, and that's where we are headed. The Talmud in Tractate Niddah writes that a fetus in its mother’s womb is taught the entire Torah, meaning everything it has to accomplish and achieve in this world.<\/p>

"Before each of us descended into this world, we knew our entire Torah before the angel came and made us forget it all. Our journey in this world, according to Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, is a search for the knowledge of what our mission here is, and this search itself should stem from the recollection of something I once knew. What stands against it is the external world — all the experiences and external intelligences that have been built within it.<\/p>

"Our choice is to identify what within me is external intellect that doesn’t reflect who I truly am, and we can do this by identifying the voices that arise from the soul and heart. Initially, these voices will be very faint, but once we give them space, they will sharpen until we recognize them fully."<\/p>

Who is this process suitable for, and what am I supposed to learn about myself from it?<\/p>

"A person willing to enter the imaginative clarification process should be ready to reevaluate all the concepts perceived as clear and absolute such as joy, love, fears, truth, falsehood, weakness, longing, and more. It is a very simple tool that anyone can use, requiring no special skills, but rather primarily consent and willingness to engage with these layers within themselves.<\/p>

"The method is not suitable for children as it requires a very developed capacity for choice, which can only be found among adults. In these processes, a person learns to recognize the different forces acting within them and to identify the root of such a force — they will be required to choose when they hear the internal voices, as each leads to a different direction. The journey is essentially a voyage to discover new inner layers that we are often unaware of, within which our mission is to find new and more genuine meanings to what occurs within us. Meanings that we view through the lens of a mature and responsible person, and not from a child's range of emotions."<\/p>

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"In this process, there is absolute trust that all the answers are within the person themselves"<\/strong><\/p>

When asked why the method is called 'Emerging Imagination', Kedem explains that unlike guided imagery — this is a method that does not come from the outside — a coach guiding us to look inward and feel things by reciting images, but rather work that is more from the inside out.<\/p>

Unlike other methods, Kedem's method places the therapist far from the spotlight and essentially illuminates the client’s soul, placing them at the center. "In this process, there is absolute trust that all the answers are within the person themselves, and any external intervention would only hinder the truth from surfacing.<\/p>

"The process happens at a very personal pace, and that's perfectly fine. There's no need to force these answers; they will surface precisely at the right timing. This profound encounter of a person with their soul allows for the discovery of the inner healing powers that each of us possesses."<\/p>

Kedem came to the field of the soul in general and the development of this method in particular after completing his service as an officer in the 'Duchifat' brigade. "Like every released soldier, I also decided to travel to India, during which I was exposed to this field of body and soul," he recalls. "Upon returning to Israel, I decided to forgo the psychology studies I had registered for and instead turned to natural medicine studies. When I realized the existence of a soul within me, I understood that it essentially contradicted everything I had been brought up to believe."<\/p>

The person who taught him all about healing was a teacher who became a Breslov Hasid, through whom Kedem was introduced to Judaism and Hasidism.<\/p>

But what set the final tone was his decision to marry his wife. "It was clear to her that the wedding needed to have a Jewish character, and it was clear to me that it absolutely did not. She came from a religious Sephardic background, and I was very Ashkenazi and very not religious — creating a sort of necessity to clarify what being Jewish even means."<\/p>

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"Once we create the separation, we can establish a dialogue that can change the situation"<\/strong>"<\/p>

Thus began an intense process of mutual learning intended to understand their part in this great thing called Judaism. "The beginning was actually in a Lithuanian yeshiva where I very much connected with the study of the Talmud," Kedem recalls. "But in the search for answers on body-soul and meditations, I ended up at Breslov, and the more I delved into studying, the more I felt a greater longing for Judaism within me, especially towards prayer, which I am still connected to today."<\/p>

During his studies, Kedem established his own clinic and began treating people. Even then, he noticed the great power inherent in working with imagination. "When I started learning this subject and seeking answers to the questions that interested me, I saw that it wasn’t exactly accurate for what I needed. Imagination is a language familiar to me, and as I conducted treatments and workshops, I found I was rediscovering it. Through trial and error in the field with my clients, the 'Dimyonovea' therapeutic method was born."<\/p>

Today, the 'Dimyonovea' Institute trains hundreds of therapists each year, and the progress continues. While Kedem still conducts workshops there, in recent years he has focused more on education, serving as the head of the 'Sde Tzofim' community's Talmud Torah in Ma’alot.<\/p>

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Finally, I couldn't help but ask for personal advice for myself and many in my situation dealing with late singlehood.<\/p>

How can your method help older singles who are often stuck in thought patterns that are hard to let go of?<\/p>

"In singlehood, there is often a contradictory experience. On one hand, there is a feeling that something within me is preventing the desired relationship, and thus I take actions that prevent me from approaching salvation — yet on the other hand, I continue to pray, trust, and make efforts. It can be a very frustrating closed circle, and in the emerging imagination process, several levels are addressed: First and foremost, we learn to listen to those parts within that are dealing with fears, to those discouraging and blaming voices that don’t really want to get married. Through listening, a dialogue is created, descending into the depth of the fear, discovering on which root it sits.<\/p>

"Often, a voice that initially seemed disruptive suddenly in its root is revealed as powerful and capable of creating change, and precisely there, a place of faith and understanding opens up that I am doing my part in the situation I've encountered, preparing the ground from a place of faith.<\/p>

"How is this done practically? By turning the voice into an internally emerging image, and once there is an image, I create a separation that allows for dialogue. The voice can turn into various images and figures, and when managing this dialogue, insights begin to emerge: what I feel towards this figure, how willing I am or am not to accept its words, how its words affect me, and so on.<\/p>

"And in this dialogue created among all my inner voices, the deep voice of the soul gradually rises, knowing how to work with all these parts and essentially turn them into good."<\/p>

Watch Evyatar Banai explain what this method has achieved in him:<\/strong><\/p>

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